State prepares for changes to annual tests

Within two years, students throughout California will no longer be assessed by annual Standardized Testing and Reporting, otherwise known as the STAR test, which is scheduled to end in 2014.

But that doesn’t mean that assessments will no longer punctuate the school year for students in California and all around the country.

Instead, California will become one of 45 states to begin testing students on their knowledge of Common Core Standards for mathematics and English language arts.

Educators say the new system will help produce a tech savvy work force by boosting students’ problem solving skills and teaching them to think critically.

For California, the newer Common Core Standards mark a drastic shift from STAR testing, which requires teachers and students to prepare for a wide range of topics, but allows only superficial coverage of those topics, said Susan Pérez, Pajaro Valley Unified School District Director of Education and English Learner Services.